“He could play for Celtic regularly,” Bolton boss on Johnny Kenny

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·17 February 2026

“He could play for Celtic regularly,” Bolton boss on Johnny Kenny

Celtic’s on-loan striker Johnny Kenny has made an immediate impact at Bolton Wanderers, impressing in training before going on to make a really good impact at the weekend when he made his debut away to Lincoln…

Johnny Kenny of Bolton Wanderers. Lincoln City v Bolton Wanderers, League One, LNER Stadium, Lincoln, 14 February 2026. Photo Anna Gowthorpe IMAGO/Shutterstock

Bolton are currently in third place in League One on 56 points, six behind Lincoln and ten behind leaders Cardiff, with Stockport three points behind Johnny Kenny’s new club. Might that time earlier in the season when that Sky Sports pundit reckoned that Stockport were better than Celtic?

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Bolton manager Steven Schumacher tried to sign Johnny Kenny from in the summer, having a £500,000 rejected with Celtic believed to value the Ireland international striker at closer to £1m at that stage.

Johnny Kenny celebrates. Celtic v theRangers. Premier Sports Cup, semi final at Hampden. 2 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

He did get plenty of football at Celtic this season under all three managers, Brendan Rodgers, Martin O’Neill and Wilfried Nancy but confidence seemed to have been drained from the player, especially during Nancy’s ill-fated 33 day period in charge. A highlight for Kenny would have been his goal against theRangers in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final win at Hampden under Martin O’Neill.

Johnny Kenny of Celtic scores his team’s first goal during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

With new strikers coming into the club in the January window Kenny was allowed the opportunity to eventually make the move to Horwich based club in Greater Manchester.

Reflecting on his own early impressions of the on-loan Celtic striker Bolton boss Steven Schumacher certainly seems to be pleased with what he’s seen so far from Johnny Kenny.

Johnny Kenny of Bolton Wanderers. Lincoln City v Bolton Wanderers, League One, LNER Stadium, Lincoln, 14 February 2026. Photo Anna Gowthorpe IMAGO/Shutterstock

“He doesn’t strike me as a player who lacks confidence,” Schumacher said, as reported by local outlet The Bolton News. “We have only had him at the training ground for three or four days, but we saw on Saturday that he came on and made a really good impact.

“When I spoke to him in the summer, he seemed a bright lad who understood the game, knew what his strengths are and what he could bring to our team.

“We didn’t manage to get the deal done then, but when I spoke to him again in January, it didn’t seem he was lacking confidence – it just seems to me that he played in a team at Celtic who have had a difficult season, really.

“They’ve had three different managers, so that’s not easy as a young player trying to lead the line for such a big club.”

Johnny Kenny of Bolton Wanderers. Lincoln City v Bolton Wanderers, League One, LNER Stadium, Lincoln, 14 February 2026. Photo Anna Gowthorpe IMAGO/Shutterstock

The change for Kenny, stepping away from the intensity and the enormous pressure at Celtic to win games and for the striker to score goals, will clearly be a major positive.

You felt for Kenny at times, notably in that first half at Tannadice in December when he could have had a hat-trick but missed chance after chance, and a heavy price was paid with Dundee United coming back to turn around a 1-0 first half deficit (Daizen Maeda scored) to win the match 2-1.

Johnny Kenny misses. Dundee Utd v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Tannadice, 17 December 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Steven Schumacher continued: “We are just happy to have him here. He seems to be enjoying it. He’s settled in with the lads fine. And I think he’ll be a good player for us. That’s part of our job to try and help him develop.

“We want him to score goals and give us a chance to get promoted. That’s the main objective. But for me as a coach, it’s time to help him as well.”

“I have to ask myself: ‘How can he get better? Who knows what level he could be going back to play at? I think he could play for Celtic regularly because he’s that good.

“But obviously, he just needs to keep playing and keep getting goals and keep showing everybody what we think he can do. He is a good lad. I’m really pleased to have him here. And as I say, hopefully he enjoys his time with us.”

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order